The Handwarmer by Tom Lovell

The relationship between the Indians and the white man has been a sad account of misunderstanding and violence. But in the early days, the Indians were friendly toward the white man.

It was later, when the Indians found out that they were being robbed and that their buffalo were being slaughtered, that things changed. Prior to that, however, friendship did exist.

"The Handwarmer" is a demonstration of that bond.

Tom Lovell: 1909 - 1997

A Native American finding a Raggedy Ann doll on a lonely western road. A man teaching his blonde, gingham-dressed, settler wife how to shoot a rifle. A trio of Indians warming their hands over the chimney of a snow-buried cabin in an otherwise empty landscape.

These are just three of the stories told through the art of Tom Lovell, considered by his peers one of the deans of Western art.

But that’s not all. He was equally famous for his exciting and thought- provoking illustrations for such magazines as "Life", "The Saturday Evening Post" and "National Geographic"—as well as his stirring images of sweeping Civil War battles which were considered so definitive that they were telecast as part of the famous Public Television documentary on the conflict and published in the accompanying best-selling book.

Lovell was the first artist to win the National Academy of Western Art’s highest honor, the Prix de West, twice. In 1992, he was honored by both the National Academy of Western Art and the National Cowboy Hall of Fame with a Lifetime Achievement Award and a prestigious one-man retrospective show.

He has left a lifetime of work that will influence, impress and instill emotion for years to come.